Various physical activities require incessant use of the hands in grasping or hanging from bars or other objects. Examples include gymnastics, as well as fitness competitions that employ the use of bars for pull-ups and similar events. In such activities, grasping a bar or another object repetitively can cause rubbing, callouses, chafing, and even pressure sores on the palm of the hand. This is especially true when the weight of the individual is supported by the arms and focused on the hands in contact with the bar or the similar object, e.g., when doing pull-ups.
Fitness competitions are becoming increasingly popular in this country. Examples of the way the hands are used repetitively in such competitions include, but are not limited, to week-long fitness competitions. Some of the elite competitions put the male and female athletes through 20 or more tests of strength and endurance that require them to perform extensive gymnastic movements as well as Olympic barbell movements. Each of these individual tests during the week requires gripping and hand rotation on the bar. In each case, the potential result is the occurrence of pressure sores, chafing, callouses, and the like on the palms from such extended and repetitive use.
Gloves provide inadequate protection to the user because they are bulky, they hinder the user's grip, and they allow for the hands to become overly sweaty during training and competition. In addition to those negative aspects, gloves tend to have a generic fit and are not customized for the individual user. This presents a proper size and fit issue for a majority of people who try to utilize workout gloves during their training and competition.
Likewise, some have tried wrapping the hands with conventional athletic tape, such as a low grade 250 tensile strength latex tape. However, this approach also has substantial limitations, mainly because it is not protective during the entire workout, nor is it reusable after the workout, and it is prone to slippage during use especially as the user perspires.
In view of these problems and limitations, there is a need for a reliable palm protector that can be used during the above-mentioned activities and other similar activities. Needed features of such a palm protector include the reduction or prevention of excessive wear on the palms (i.e., avoidance or limitation of pressure sores, callouses, and the like from incessant grasping of bars and other equipment during training and competition), a customizable fit for an individual user's hand/palm/finger size and dimensions, reusability, and the reduction of the amount of sweating and prevention of overheating by not covering the entire hand.